The NIH:comprises
27institutes and centers;annually funds
6,000 in-house scientists and
50,000 external grants at universities, medicalschools, and research institutions;and supports an estimated 432,000 jobsacross the United States.

2035

2014

VIII AACR Cancer Progress Report 2014

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Research has and will continue to fuel progress against
cancer. ;is progress has been made possible by federal
investment in biomedical research, which has expanded our
knowledge of the biology of the more than 200 diseases we
call cancer and allowed us to translate this knowledge into
new and better ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, treat, and
increasingly cure some of these diseases. Recent discoveries
in the ;elds of cancer genomics and immunology have been
particularly fruitful in this regard and hold great promise
for the future.

An increased understanding of the role of genetic
alterations in developing cancer is also the foundation
on which changes are beginning to be made in the way
that clinical trials are conducted and regulated. ;ese
changes can eliminate the need for large, long, multiphase
trials, and it is hoped they will result in anticancer
therapeutics receiving approval by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) more rapidly than ever before.

Much of the research that has been particularly instrumental
in building our current scienti;c foundation was funded by
the federal government through the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

As the oldest and largest cancer organization in the world
that fosters every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer
research, the American Association for Cancer Research
(AACR) is committed to increasing public understanding of
cancer and the importance of lifesaving cancer research, as well
as advocating for increased federal research funding for the
bene;t of cancer survivors and their loved ones everywhere.

;e fourth AACR Cancer Progress Report to Congress andthe American public serves as a comprehensive educationaltool that chronicles how research is transforming lives, suchas the lives of the 12 courageous individuals who have sharedtheir experiences with cancer within the report. ;e reportalso illustrates how unwavering bipartisan support fromCongress and the administration, in the form of increasedfunding for the NIH and NCI, is required if we are tocontinue to transform lives through research in the future.

Cancer in 2014

Cancer research saves lives because it is the foundation of
new and better strategies for cancer prevention, detection,
diagnosis, and treatment. As a result, the number of people
who are living longer, higher-quality lives a;er a cancer
diagnosis continues to rise. In fact, it is estimated that in the
United States alone, nearly 14. 5 million cancer survivors
are alive today; an estimated 379, 112 of those individuals
received their cancer diagnoses as children or adolescents.

Although extraordinary advances have been and continue
to be made against cancer, it is estimated that 585,720 U.S.
residents, including 1,960 children and adolescents, will die
from some form of cancer in 2014. Moreover, because most
cancer diagnoses occur in those age 65 and older, a segment
of the U.S. population that is expected to double by 2060,
we face a future in which the number of cancer-related
deaths will increase dramatically unless new and better
ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer can be developed.
;ese trends are being mirrored globally, and the number
of people dying of cancer worldwide is expected to increase
from 8. 2 million in 2012 to 14. 6 million in 2035.